Frank McEwen
Encyclopedia
Francis Jack "Frank" McEwen, OBE
(19 April 1907 – 15 January 1994) was an English artist, teacher, and museum
administrator. He is best remembered today for his efforts to bring attention to the work of Shona
artists in Rhodesia
, and for helping to found the National Gallery of Zimbabwe
. He was awarded the OBE in 1963.
, McEwen grew up surrounded by art from West Africa
, which his father had collected on various business trips. In 1926 he went to Paris to study art history
at the Sorbonne
and the Institut d'Art et d'Archaeologie; there, his teacher was Henri Focillon
. Through Focillon, McEwen met and befriended artists such as Constantin Brâncuşi
, Georges Braque
, Henri Matisse
, Pablo Picasso
, and Fernand Léger
, and gained a deal of respect for the teachings of Gustave Moreau
, which were to influence much of his later career.
Upon Focillon's advice, McEwen chose to become a painter
rather than a lecturer, which led to a fight with his family, as a result of which he was cut off. He wandered around Europe for some years, taking menial jobs at power station
s to fund his travels. From 1928 until 1929 he spent time in Flanders
, painting wildflower
s and other subjects in his spare time. He exhibited in London at both the Goupil Salon and the New English Art Club
.
McEwen eventually returned to Paris, where with Foucillon's assistance he found a job as an apprentice to an art restorer
who worked on collections at the Louvre
; soon he had his own studio and business in the city. In 1939 he moved to Toulon
, starting an art workshop for the untrained and basing its rules on Moreau's theories. When France fell
in 1940 he took a fishing boat to Algiers
in the hope that war would not reach the French colonies
.
and France's government in exile
was able, as a fluent speaker of French
, to find work at the headquarters of the Allied Forces
. He began work there after November 1942, serving as a civil assistant to General
Innes Irons. In January 1945 he transferred to the newly-created British Council
.
When McEwen joined its ranks the British Council was attempting to design an exhibition
of British art for export to France. The assignment was difficult, as the French art world was viewed as somewhat chauvinistic and likely to sneer at most British artistic efforts. McEwen chose to design a show around some of Herbert Read
's collection of child art, which had largely been gathered from teaching experiments, similar to McEwen's own, done by Marion Richardson
and based on Moreau's ideas; such experiments were far ahead of French teaching practices of the era. Sixty artworks, many similar in style to post-Impressionist
French works, were selected, and the exhibit was a great success. It was followed by a one-man show for Henry Moore
at the end of 1945, and by exhibits of works by Joseph Mallord William Turner, William Blake
, and Graham Sutherland
, among others. Concurrently, McEwen designed shows of French art in London, and exhibitions of Picasso, Matisse, Braque, Georges Rouault
, Leger, and Raoul Dufy
followed from 1945 to 1947. The Picasso show, at the Victoria and Albert Museum
, incited hundreds of letters of protest to The Times
of London, which brought the painter great merriment when McEwen translated them for him.
was to stock its halls with Old Master
paintings. African art was not to have a place in the collection.
McEwen felt that a gallery could only thrive if some sort of artistic exchange was designed, and that there would have to be some sort of local product to make such an exchange worthwhile. When a director for the museum was sought, he applied, with the encouragement of both Picasso and Herbert Read; to his surprise, he was chosen. He asked for a year's grace, and upon receiving it resigned from the Council and sailed from Paris to Mozambique
- via Brazil - and around the Cape of Good Hope
.
, a former policeman
who talked to him a great deal about the culture of the Shona people. Regulations stated that all Gallery staff must be ex-policemen, so Mukarobgwa was hired as a cleaner. McEwan gave him materials for drawing and painting, and provided the same materials to other members of the staff. An unofficial workshop of sorts, later to be called the Workshop School, was formed in the basement of the museum; within a year of its foundation painting and drawing had been superseded by carving
. Local stones, such as soapstone
, serpentine, and verdite were the media of choice. Among the artists whose careers began at the museum were Sam Songo
, Mukarobgwa, Boira Mteki
, Joseph Ndandarika
, John
and Bernard Takawira
, and Joram Mariga
; along with Josia Manzi, Nicholas Mukomberanwa
and others they went on to create one of the first native schools of contemporary art in Africa. Further details are to be found in the article on Shona art
.
The workshop remained an unofficial part of the museum until its wares began to sell abroad via the efforts of Lord Delaware, David Stirling
, and others; eventually the board of directors officially accepted responsibility for its activities. Its products were exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art
in 1968, the Musée Rodin
in 1971, and London's ICA in 1972. Political tensions in Rhodesia grew unbearable, however, and McEwen resigned his post in 1973 to live on his boat in the Bahamas. He took frequent trips to Brazil, but eventually returned to Devon, settling in Ilfracombe
.
McEwen left an important bequest to the British Museum
, in the form of a collection of specimens in stone, clay and wood (mainly items he had purchased from the artists working in 1957-1973). This group of works is of significant value to Art Historians
as it shows the range of sculptural forms being produced at that time and McEwen's own tastes in art. http://www.nationalgallery.co.zw/PDFs/NGZ%20-%20Shona%20Sculpture%20in%20the%20British%20Museum.pdf
In 1969, McEwen married the future fashion designer Mary McFadden
, the former wife of Philip Harari. They divorced the next year.
McEwen died at his home in Devon in 1994.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(19 April 1907 – 15 January 1994) was an English artist, teacher, and museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
administrator. He is best remembered today for his efforts to bring attention to the work of Shona
Shona people
Shona is the name collectively given to two groups of people in the east and southwest of Zimbabwe, north eastern Botswana and southern Mozambique.-Shona Regional Classification:...
artists in Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
, and for helping to found the National Gallery of Zimbabwe
National Gallery of Zimbabwe
The National Gallery of Zimbabwe is a gallery in Harare, Zimbabwe, dedicated to the presentation and conservation of Zimbabwe’s contemporary art and visual heritage...
. He was awarded the OBE in 1963.
Early life
Born in Mexico and brought up in DevonDevon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, McEwen grew up surrounded by art from West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
, which his father had collected on various business trips. In 1926 he went to Paris to study art history
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
at the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
and the Institut d'Art et d'Archaeologie; there, his teacher was Henri Focillon
Henri Focillon
Henri Focillon was a French art historian.Director of the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Lyon. Professor of Art History at the University of Lyon, at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Lyon, at the Sorbonne, at the Collège de France and then in the United States, where he went into exile and taught at Yale...
. Through Focillon, McEwen met and befriended artists such as Constantin Brâncuşi
Constantin Brancusi
Constantin Brâncuşi was a Romanian-born sculptor who made his career in France. As a child he displayed an aptitude for carving wooden farm tools. Formal studies took him first to Bucharest, then to Munich, then to the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris...
, Georges Braque
Georges Braque
Georges Braque[p] was a major 20th century French painter and sculptor who, along with Pablo Picasso, developed the art style known as Cubism.-Early Life:...
, Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse was a French artist, known for his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primarily as a painter...
, Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
, and Fernand Léger
Fernand Léger
Joseph Fernand Henri Léger was a French painter, sculptor, and filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of Cubism which he gradually modified into a more figurative, populist style...
, and gained a deal of respect for the teachings of Gustave Moreau
Gustave Moreau
Gustave Moreau was a French Symbolist painter whose main emphasis was the illustration of biblical and mythological figures. As a painter of literary ideas, Moreau appealed to the imaginations of some Symbolist writers and artists.- Biography :Moreau was born in Paris. His father, Louis Jean Marie...
, which were to influence much of his later career.
Upon Focillon's advice, McEwen chose to become a painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
rather than a lecturer, which led to a fight with his family, as a result of which he was cut off. He wandered around Europe for some years, taking menial jobs at power station
Power station
A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....
s to fund his travels. From 1928 until 1929 he spent time in Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
, painting wildflower
Wildflower
A wildflower is a flower that grows wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. Yet "wildflower" meadows of a few mixed species are sold in seed packets. The term "wildflower" has been made vague by commercial seedsmen who are interested in selling more flowers or seeds more...
s and other subjects in his spare time. He exhibited in London at both the Goupil Salon and the New English Art Club
New English Art Club
The New English Art Club was founded in London in 1885 as an alternate venue to the Royal Academy.-History:Young English artists returning from studying art in Paris mounted the first exhibition of the New English Art Club in April 1886...
.
McEwen eventually returned to Paris, where with Foucillon's assistance he found a job as an apprentice to an art restorer
Art conservation and restoration
Conservation-restoration, also referred to as conservation, is a profession devoted to the preservation of cultural heritage for the future. Conservation activities include examination, documentation, treatment, and preventive care...
who worked on collections at the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
; soon he had his own studio and business in the city. In 1939 he moved to Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
, starting an art workshop for the untrained and basing its rules on Moreau's theories. When France fell
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
in 1940 he took a fishing boat to Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
in the hope that war would not reach the French colonies
French colonial empires
The French colonial empire was the set of territories outside Europe that were under French rule primarily from the 17th century to the late 1960s. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the colonial empire of France was the second-largest in the world behind the British Empire. The French colonial empire...
.
World War II
McEwen quickly grew disillusioned with the war, but through contacts with the French ResistanceFrench Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
and France's government in exile
Free French Forces
The Free French Forces were French partisans in World War II who decided to continue fighting against the forces of the Axis powers after the surrender of France and subsequent German occupation and, in the case of Vichy France, collaboration with the Germans.-Definition:In many sources, Free...
was able, as a fluent speaker of French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, to find work at the headquarters of the Allied Forces
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
. He began work there after November 1942, serving as a civil assistant to General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Innes Irons. In January 1945 he transferred to the newly-created British Council
British Council
The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
.
When McEwen joined its ranks the British Council was attempting to design an exhibition
Art exhibition
Art exhibitions are traditionally the space in which art objects meet an audience. The exhibit is universally understood to be for some temporary period unless, as is rarely true, it is stated to be a "permanent exhibition". In American English, they may be called "exhibit", "exposition" or...
of British art for export to France. The assignment was difficult, as the French art world was viewed as somewhat chauvinistic and likely to sneer at most British artistic efforts. McEwen chose to design a show around some of Herbert Read
Herbert Read
Sir Herbert Edward Read, DSO, MC was an English anarchist, poet, and critic of literature and art. He was one of the earliest English writers to take notice of existentialism, and was strongly influenced by proto-existentialist thinker Max Stirner....
's collection of child art, which had largely been gathered from teaching experiments, similar to McEwen's own, done by Marion Richardson
Marion Richardson
Marion Richardson was British artist, educator and author who published workbooks on penmanship and handwriting.-Biography:...
and based on Moreau's ideas; such experiments were far ahead of French teaching practices of the era. Sixty artworks, many similar in style to post-Impressionist
Post-Impressionism
Post-Impressionism is the term coined by the British artist and art critic Roger Fry in 1910 to describe the development of French art since Manet. Fry used the term when he organized the 1910 exhibition Manet and Post-Impressionism...
French works, were selected, and the exhibit was a great success. It was followed by a one-man show for Henry Moore
Henry Moore
Henry Spencer Moore OM CH FBA was an English sculptor and artist. He was best known for his semi-abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art....
at the end of 1945, and by exhibits of works by Joseph Mallord William Turner, William Blake
William Blake
William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
, and Graham Sutherland
Graham Sutherland
Graham Vivien Sutherland OM was an English artist.-Early life:He was born in Streatham, attending Homefield Preparatory School, Sutton. He was then educated at Epsom College, Surrey before going up to Goldsmiths, University of London...
, among others. Concurrently, McEwen designed shows of French art in London, and exhibitions of Picasso, Matisse, Braque, Georges Rouault
Georges Rouault
Georges Henri Rouault[p] was a French Fauvist and Expressionist painter, and printmaker in lithography and etching.-Childhood and education:Rouault was born in Paris into a poor family...
, Leger, and Raoul Dufy
Raoul Dufy
Raoul Dufy[p] was a French Fauvist painter. He developed a colorful, decorative style that became fashionable for designs of ceramics and textiles, as well as decorative schemes for public buildings. He is noted for scenes of open-air social events...
followed from 1945 to 1947. The Picasso show, at the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
, incited hundreds of letters of protest to The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
of London, which brought the painter great merriment when McEwen translated them for him.
Move to Africa
By 1952 McEwen began to feel that the School of Paris was becoming trivial, and started to show greater interest in African culture. When the idea of founding the Rhodes National Gallery in Salisbury, Rhodesia was floated, McEwen was consulted, and showed great interest in the project. He went to Rhodesia for a month in 1954 for further consultation, but found himself unimpressed with what he saw; there was no local artistic scene to speak of, and the avowed intent of the museum's board of directorsBoard of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
was to stock its halls with Old Master
Old Master
"Old Master" is a term for a European painter of skill who worked before about 1800, or a painting by such an artist. An "old master print" is an original print made by an artist in the same period...
paintings. African art was not to have a place in the collection.
McEwen felt that a gallery could only thrive if some sort of artistic exchange was designed, and that there would have to be some sort of local product to make such an exchange worthwhile. When a director for the museum was sought, he applied, with the encouragement of both Picasso and Herbert Read; to his surprise, he was chosen. He asked for a year's grace, and upon receiving it resigned from the Council and sailed from Paris to Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
- via Brazil - and around the Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
.
Foundation of the Gallery
McEwen arrived in Rhodesia before construction of the Gallery was completed, and set about looking for staff to hire. Among the people he met was Thomas MukarobgwaThomas Mukarobgwa
Thomas Mukarobgwa was a Zimbabwean painter and sculptor who worked as a gallery attendant for much of his career.Mukarobgwa was born in Nyanga, in the countryside of what was then Rhodesia, and had limited education. His first contact with art came in 1956 when he met Frank McEwen, the newly...
, a former policeman
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
who talked to him a great deal about the culture of the Shona people. Regulations stated that all Gallery staff must be ex-policemen, so Mukarobgwa was hired as a cleaner. McEwan gave him materials for drawing and painting, and provided the same materials to other members of the staff. An unofficial workshop of sorts, later to be called the Workshop School, was formed in the basement of the museum; within a year of its foundation painting and drawing had been superseded by carving
Stone carving
Stone carving is an ancient activity where pieces of rough natural stone are shaped by the controlled removal of stone. Owing to the permanence of the material, evidence can be found that even the earliest societies indulged in some form of stone work....
. Local stones, such as soapstone
Soapstone
Soapstone is a metamorphic rock, a talc-schist. It is largely composed of the mineral talc and is thus rich in magnesium. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occurs in the areas where tectonic plates are subducted, changing rocks by heat and pressure, with influx...
, serpentine, and verdite were the media of choice. Among the artists whose careers began at the museum were Sam Songo
Sam Songo
Samuel Songo was an artist born in 1929 in then Rhodesia known for his works depicting African iconography and primitive African life. Songo was disabled and used a wheelchair...
, Mukarobgwa, Boira Mteki
Boira Mteki
Boira Mteki was a Zimbabwean sculptor.A native of Harare, Mteki was among the founder members of Frank McEwen's Workshop School, and was among the first of its sculptors to use the harder native stones, such as serpentinite, granite, limestone, and springstone, which were then available...
, Joseph Ndandarika
Joseph Ndandarika
Joseph Ndandarika was a Zimbabwean sculptor known for his figurative works.A member of the Shona tribe, Ndandarika was the grandson of a highly respected n'anga, and spent some time as his apprentice before becoming a sculptor. He joined Frank McEwen's Workshop School in Harare in 1962, beginning...
, John
John Takawira
John Takawira was a Zimbabwean sculptor. The background to the sculptural movement of which he was a leading member is given in the article on Shona art.-Early life and education:...
and Bernard Takawira
Bernard Takawira
Bernard Takawira was a Zimbabwean sculptor, the younger brother of John Takawira.Takawira was born in the mountainous Nyanga district, third of six children. Their father was often absent for work, and their mother, Mai, assumed a dominant role...
, and Joram Mariga
Joram Mariga
Joram Mariga has been called the “Father of Zimbabwean Sculpture” because of his influence on the local artistic community starting in the 1950s and continuing until his death in 2000...
; along with Josia Manzi, Nicholas Mukomberanwa
Nicholas Mukomberanwa
Nicholas Mukomberanwa was a Zimbabwean sculptor. He was among the most famous products of the Workshop School.-Life:Mukomberanwa was born in the Buhera District and spent his childhood in a rural environment. He was interested in art from an early age, being introduced to the craft of woodcarving...
and others they went on to create one of the first native schools of contemporary art in Africa. Further details are to be found in the article on Shona art
Shona art
Shona art is the name applied to the visual culture of Zimbabwe. The term is used despite the fact that many artists now working there are not ethnically Shona and logically it should include art produced by settlers or visitors to Zimbabwe, especially in the colonial period...
.
The workshop remained an unofficial part of the museum until its wares began to sell abroad via the efforts of Lord Delaware, David Stirling
David Stirling
Colonel Sir Archibald David Stirling, DSO, DFC, OBE was a Scottish laird, mountaineer, World War II British Army officer, and the founder of the Special Air Service.-Life before the war:...
, and others; eventually the board of directors officially accepted responsibility for its activities. Its products were exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
in 1968, the Musée Rodin
Musée Rodin
The Musée Rodin in Paris, France, is a museum that was opened in 1919 in the Hôtel Biron and surrounding grounds. It displays works by the French sculptor Auguste Rodin....
in 1971, and London's ICA in 1972. Political tensions in Rhodesia grew unbearable, however, and McEwen resigned his post in 1973 to live on his boat in the Bahamas. He took frequent trips to Brazil, but eventually returned to Devon, settling in Ilfracombe
Ilfracombe
Ilfracombe is a seaside resort and civil parish on the North Devon coast, England with a small harbour, surrounded by cliffs.The parish stretches along the coast from 'The Coastguard Cottages' in Hele Bay toward the east and 4 miles along The Torrs to Lee Bay toward the west...
.
McEwen left an important bequest to the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
, in the form of a collection of specimens in stone, clay and wood (mainly items he had purchased from the artists working in 1957-1973). This group of works is of significant value to Art Historians
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
as it shows the range of sculptural forms being produced at that time and McEwen's own tastes in art. http://www.nationalgallery.co.zw/PDFs/NGZ%20-%20Shona%20Sculpture%20in%20the%20British%20Museum.pdf
Marriage
In 1933, Frank McEwen had a child (Frank Aldridge) with American Painter Frances Wood. They lived together in France from 1931 to 1937.In 1969, McEwen married the future fashion designer Mary McFadden
Mary McFadden
Mary Josephine McFadden is an American fashion designer and writer.-Family:McFadden is the only daughter of Alexander Bloomfield McFadden, a cotton broker, and her mother was the former Mary Josephine Cutting, a socialite and concert pianist. Her father died in 1948, when he was killed in an...
, the former wife of Philip Harari. They divorced the next year.
Last years and death
With the worldwide rise in interest in Shona carving, McEwen became something of a popular figure in artistic circles, being called upon for comment and to be filmed for various projects. He was content to live simply, yet still expressed concern that with a broadening of its popularity, the quality of Shona art might become compromised.McEwen died at his home in Devon in 1994.